ND lining up future off-campus 'home' games

No shortage of options for Swarbrick as he seeks venues for Shamrock Series

October 01, 2013|By Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune reporter

Notre Dame RB Cierre Wood tries to break the tackles of Maryland defenders in a Shamrock Series game at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., in 2011. (Mitch Stringer/US Presswire photo)

Notre Dame's annual home-game-away-from-home pilgrimage returns Saturday to the state where it began, with another Pac-12 team opposing the Irish in a massive Texas stadium.

Jack Swarbrick wants the game to revisit Chicago too. And New York. But the cascade of attention and money offered by what is now dubbed the "Shamrock Series" ensures the Notre Dame athletic director's options will not be limited.

"A lot," Swarbrick said of the number of inquiries he has fielded. "This is purely off the top of my head, but I would guess of the NFL venues, half of them have either reached out to us or we've wound up talking to them because we had an interest."

This year's version — against Arizona State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL's Cowboys — has been on the books for years. But with scheduling complexities increasing, the Shamrock Series games can be a pressure release, a game sold as a one-off event with no return game.

That allows greater flexibility in working around five ACC games and annual games with USC, Stanford and Navy.

"It's one piece in this crazy Rubik's Cube we're trying to manage, but it's a helpful piece," Swarbrick said. "We'll continue I hope to do some of those where you can do them without a home-and-home element. So in that sense, they're pretty valuable."

Swarbrick spoke as he prepared for ACC meetings during which he planned to address lingering scheduling loose ends. That suggests some of Notre Dame's future slates — in limbo for a while now — could come into focus soon.

So, too, would the future Shamrock Series locales. Some natural recruiting regions — North Carolina, Florida, Georgia — will be on the ACC circuit, perhaps mitigating urgency to get there. Likewise, Swarbrick wants to ensure programs such as Florida State and Clemson first visit South Bend for the benefit of home fans.

Swarbrick would like to hit the "heartland," with Texas, Arizona and California otherwise accounted for in coming years. An overseas game is possible, though not in the works. He allowed he was near the finish line with three future Shamrock games.

"I tend to think in terms of two things: places we haven't been to, or places we've had great success and ... you go back to not too frequently," Swarbrick said.

"We definitely want to return to Chicago. We definitely want to return to New York. And it's fun to go to venues that add something to it — places like Fenway (Park), Yankee Stadium. The venue and the city itself contribute to it."

Charlotte has reached out. Kansas State proposed a game at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.

This Texas trip offers a convenient excuse for Brian Kelly and staff to make recruiting drop-ins.

"A 'bump' would probably be a good word," Kelly said. "Is it going to seal the deal for us in a lot of instances? Probably not. But it certainly helps to get that exposure there."

What began in 2009 against Washington State in San Antonio has become a critical scheduling tool on multiple levels — for both sides.

"This is a national game for us," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. "For me personally, going back to where my home is, it is a big deal. Let everybody know that I don't have any tickets. Leave me alone and let me try to beat Notre Dame."